O Espelho

This is a pure concept: Director has chosen to play with two resources: camera and sound. No music, no SFX.

The story itself is quite surprising.

Sometimes, the lower the budget, the greater the creativity. The border between documentary and film is blurred, so the sense of "reality" is quite present and remains till the end.

The director also plays with the audience: there is a certain point when the viewer feels to be misplaced.

As Rene Magritte's painting "la Vengeance", in which the artist does not accept the inherent limitations of his art, he dares to paint outside the easel, that way Jafar Panahi goes beyond the usual simple structure of the movies.

Just for "independent advanced" movie goers.

9/10

One of the most brilliant movies you'll ever see! Before the 38-minute mark, you will be caught up in the drama of a lost little second grade school girl wandering along the perilous traffic of Teheran. After the 38-minute mark, one of the most incredible experiences in cinema begins: the meltdown of Mina the Diva. This tiny, squeaky voiced actress refuses to participate in the film anymore, and 4 minutes after her meltdown, director Panahi makes a split second decision that changed the film and his career: KEEP FILMING. The next hour is filled with more drama than any script could ever create: (a) Mina sheds her scarf, an arm cast and clothing before she storms off the bus in a rebellion as bold as a student uprising during the Revolution, (b) After yelling to the camera man to LAY OFF, Mina darts through traffic as the camera tries to keep up with her, but in her haste to flee the set, she keeps the mike on and we hear her footsteps and conversations she has with people as she tries to navigate her way home—she really does get lost, (c) we have scary scenes when we can't see Mina, but hear cars screeching to a halt: maybe she has she been hit (d) we hear some shady men talking to her, and we wonder is this a child threatened with abduction (e) on the bus and in taxi rides that Mina takes, we hear the true undercurrents of Iranian society regarding the tension between modern women and traditional men, (f) we learn of how compassionate some people can be towards keeping the world's most precious asset, our children, safe. I will not spoil it, but the natural ending to this tale is great. This is one of the best films you can all year. So AfroPixFlix says see it!

This gimmick was so good that it has never been done again since. It's like going on after a fumble, you pick it up and end the play but it will not be the best, it will not be beautiful but this fumble will get you to score a point. It's an interesting exercise, one that will spark debates because you either go with it or no. I get either side of the fence.

It's not cinema, but it is a meta-commentary on fact and fiction. Don't we always say that "life beats film" - then why is this not the best film ever? You still have to separate the two - or you make a documentary. This feels like due to financial constraints you continue with a mistake, and double down...

Monsieur Panahi cannot resist a bit of metafiction. In this case the metafiction becomes the subject of the second part of the movie, as his lead child actress finds herself in the exact same predicament as the girl she was playing, running through the streets of Tehran, talking to all sorts of people, trying to get home. Only it starts to feel a little too gimmicky and I lost interest. Plus the fact that they were watching her from a distance, but still I couldn't help but feel they were endangering her.

Anyway, Tehran traffic is hellish and I'd be scared as an adult, let alone a child. But this kid just cannot sit still to save her life. It's true we would not have a movie otherwise, but basically stay in the playground and wait for your mother to come pick you up.

Ayneh (The Mirror) is an unusual, interesting, and compelling work. The young star, Mina, is type-cast as a forceful and self-reliant young girl. The city of Teheran, as portrayed, has an almost anarchic quality to its vehicle and pedestrian traffic rules. The constant threat of accident adds a real edge to this cinema verité film. (In fact, the only problem I had with this movie was the ethical concern of allowing any actor, especially a young girl, anywhere near all this traffic.)

The Mirror is an excellent choice if you are looking for a noisy, exciting portrayal of an individual caught up in a realistic urban setting. Not a soothing film, but in my opinion, a great one.